


Daughter of War

by AshWinterGray



Series: Earth 132 [5]
Category: Batman - All Media Types, DCU, DCU (Comics), Gotham Academy (Comics), Red Hood and the Outlaws (Comics), Wonder Woman - All Media Types
Genre: Ares is a Bad Parent, Best Friends, Damian Wayne Needs a Hug, F/M, Family Feels, Found Family, Jason Todd is a good brother, Oracles, Pregnancy, Prophecy, Protective Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, Protective Damian Wayne, Protective Diana (Wonder Woman), Unplanned Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-18
Updated: 2020-10-25
Packaged: 2021-03-08 22:14:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 18,171
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27074068
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AshWinterGray/pseuds/AshWinterGray
Summary: Her story was something out of Rick Riordan novel. She might as well be Percy Jackson, though she feared she was more like Clarisse La Rue.Hippolyta "Lyta" Milton has lived a life with one slap to the face after another. Just when she thinks life can be normal, her parents decide they want her back. Not if the Pizza Club has anything to say about it. And they most certainly do.
Relationships: Artemis of Bana-Mighdall & Jason Todd, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall/Jason Todd, Diana (Wonder Woman)/Steve Trevor, Jason Todd & Helena Wayne, Mia "Maps" Mizoguchi & Damian Wayne
Series: Earth 132 [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956985
Comments: 24
Kudos: 38





	1. Rick Riordan Wrote My Life Story

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hippolyta Milton is NOT an OC. She is an actual character that literally got killed off for no reason other than the universe was resetting. She was roughly Damian's age by the time she died, so I thought it made sense to make them the same age.

Her story was something out of Rick Riordan novel. She might as well be Percy Jackson, though she feared she was more like Clarisse La Rue. Thirteen years ago, her mother, Donna Milton, had formed a sexual relationship with Ari Buchanan. He was a major Crime Lord in Boston, and she was his lawyer. When Ari revealed he had no intention of fathering a child, Ari revealed himself to be the god of war, Ares. He shot her mother in the chest with Wonder Woman present, and the events created a blackhole that aided Ares’ escape and caused her mother to go into pre-mature labor. Wonder Woman aided her mother through the labor as they were trapped and eventually saved both her mother, and her own life.

Which was how she got her name; Hippolyta Milton.

Lyta, as she preferred to call herself, would like to say that her story ended there. Her godly parent left her alone, pretending to be dead so he could one day attack Wonder Woman again. She was named after a figure of Greek mythology like Percy was named after Perseus. Lyta would not have been at all upset if a magical satyr showed up to take her to some mythical Greek camp and nearly got her killed. But that didn’t happen.

Instead, Lyta’s story only got worse. Her mother, Donna Milton, was basically a mythical con-artist trying to kill Wonder Woman. To make this situation worse, her mother was Circe, the very sorceress who had been trying to kill Wonder Woman for decades. Her mother had decided to hide her own identity by using spells to make her believe herself to be a lawyer named Donna Milton. The reason was because Wonder Woman’s lasso could see through any magical disguise.

Her mother was furious she had allowed her other form to become best friends with her sworn enemy. So she began to lead a double life, raising Lyta in a loving home, but also attacking Wonder Woman regularly. But Lyta would know her mother anywhere. Upon seeing her mother was Circe, Lyta went to confront her, only to come across her mother demanding Wonder Woman kill her. Young. Stupid. Naïve. Lyta was terrified and aided Wonder Woman in stopping her mother, hoping to save her.

With her mother properly detained, for a time, Diana took Lyta to Themyscira to train. She became a fierce warrior under the rule of Queen Hippolyta, who Lyta admired just as much as Wonder Woman, but Lyta had been born of Man’s World, and to Man’s World she foolishly returned.

In the end, Ares took her away to train her, and she was forced to fight by her parent’s side in their efforts to kill Wonder Woman. Her parents were banished to the Underworld, and many believed that Lyta had done the same.

Unknown to them, Lyta Milton had escaped and with the aid of her father’s old connections, managed to remake her life as Leta Morgan. She ran to the one place she knew no one would look twice at her.

Gotham.

If Batman suspected anything, he never confronted her, and Leta preferred to keep a low profile, anyways. She helped, but only rarely. It was hardly ever worth it to reveal herself. Especially when she learned Wonder Woman had a tendency to visit the Batman unannounced.

And then the Universe reset.

And then her parents resurfaced.

Leta knew she couldn’t stay hidden forever, but she was going to try. Even if it killed her.

\------------------------------

Three days ago, Bruce Wayne brought the newly returned Jason Todd-Wayne to Gotham Academy to get his GED. Three days ago, a conversation had taken place with the Principle that resulted in the current situation. Three days ago, Jason Todd-Wayne had ‘worked his charm’ and gotten his younger brother re-instated into Gotham Academy.

This had just become Leta’s problem.

“This will be so much fun!” Mia Mizoguchi cheered as she joined Leta and Damian at a table. “I love history projects! There are so many mysteries in history!”

Mrs. MacPherson had just assigned their first project of the quarter. A _group_ project. Not only had she assigned the projects, but she had decided on the groups. Leta could not, for the life of her, figure out what possessed Mrs. MacPherson to place _her_ in a group with Damian Wayne and Mia Mizoguchi. Everyone knew that it was Mia who got Damian expelled in the first place, and many expected there to be bad blood.

Looking at Damian Wayne, Leta couldn’t see any malice. He seemed resigned.

“Let’s just not get one of us expelled, again,” Damian voiced, pinching his nose. “I’d prefer not to sit through another lecture about why school is important.”

Mia seemed undeterred in her enthusiasm.

“Call me Maps,” Mia stuck her hand out to Leta. “All my friends do, and we’ll be partners at least.”

“Leta,” she nodded back. “Leta Morgan.”

“Right!” Mia-Maps-grinned brightly. “Okay, let’s see. What are we going to be looking working on this time?”

Leta felt her heart stutter to a stop as she looked over the assignment. Greek mythology. It was like the universe was mocking her. But her father had trained her to be a weapon, and she easily schooled her expression as quickly as she paled.

“Write about a figure from Greek mythology that was considered a hero…” Maps read aloud. “Huh…guess we don’t really get a say in who we research. She chose for us.”

“Odysseus,” Damian muttered. “Excellent! He is a marvelous hero.”

“You think so?” Maps eyed the name skeptically. “I always liked Jason and the Argonauts. Or even Perseus.”

“I studied the tales of Greek mythology. Perseus is considered a hero, but he had none of the tragedy that normally defines Greek heroes. His tale was not written in the typical style of most heroes. At least Jason and the Argonauts was a far more trying tale. However he thought himself to be cunning, only he was more often a fool. Though I will not deny he was a remarkable hero.”

“I’ve always liked the _Odyssey_ ,” Leta whispered, more to herself than her partners.

“Yes, the _Odyssey_ was a favorite of mine, too,” Damian agreed. Leta’s head whipped up to Damian. “He was a fool at times, but he was clever. He did not have unimaginable strength, nor was he the son of a god. He was simply clever, and an excellent craftsman.”

Leta liked the _Odyssey_ because Odysseus was flawed. He was a flawed hero, though clever, and he got into trouble just as quickly as he got out of it. His tale was one Leta admired, from tricking Ajax to returning home to his family. At every turn, Odysseus faced trials, and he didn’t always succeed in getting out of them at first, but in the end, he returned home.

“I know we’ll have class time,” Maps pulled Leta from her thoughts, “but I’m an over-achiever on these types of projects. And since I’ll be reading the _Odyssey_ cover to cover, I’d like to meet outside of class. Is that alright with you guys?”

“I can make time,” Damian consented. “I too, would like to re-read the _Odyssey_. I am sure the Manor has several copies if you would like one, Mizoguchi.”

“I told you to call me Maps,” she huffed. “But I’ll check the library first, okay? You know I love it there, anyways. Leta?”

“I own a copy,” Leta stated, brushing her hair from her eyes. Her wig, of course. Her eyes were already problem enough, and she didn’t need her purple hair to draw more attention. “And I can meet you anywhere. I’m not really in any clubs.”

Maps got an intrigued look on her face, and Damian was eyeing the other girl with disdain. Of everything Leta expected to happen, this was not one of the things she ever could have dreamed. And yet, here she was, talking to Mia Mizoguchi, younger sister of the hot and attractive Kyle Mizoguchi, and sharing a love of the _Odyssey_ with Damian Wayne.

Leta really hoped this wouldn’t draw more attention to herself. She had spent too long hiding to be outed by the youngest Prince of Gotham, and GA’s resident detective.

“So, after 3:30, then?” Maps was asking.

“We’ll need to be done before 5:45 at the latest,” Damian huffed out. “I’ve got a dinner I ‘absolutely _must_ attend, Master Damian’.”

The sudden shift to a British accent startled Leta, but it was clearly meant to be a joke if Maps’ giggle was anything to go on.

“Leta?”

“Uh, oh, yeah,” Leta nodded, probably looking like an idiot. “I’m free.”

“Great!” Maps cheered, a little too loudly. “Now, give me a quick rundown, and I’ll start reading the book tonight.”

On the other hand, as she listened to Damian recount most of the story, while Maps asked questions, she considered this may not be a bad thing.

“So he’s like Batman?”

Damian paused and sputtered, What-?!”

“Well he’s got no powers,” Maps ticked off her fingers. “He’s not a demigod or blessed by the gods. He’s ticked off several people he’s supposed to be allies with. He’s fought wars he should have technically died in, but manages to survive on pure wit. He’s by far the most clever hero I’ve heard of. And he takes on monsters on a regular basis with nothing but his brain and a few gadgets.”

Leta, who had been quiet, cast a look to Damian.

“She has a point.”

\----------------------------

Jason and Helena were both in their guises of Red Hood and Huntress, scoping out a potential drug ring, when they were joined by two familiar faces. Two alarmingly familiar faces. Babs, who was on another roof, stared wide-eyed as the two women landed beside her partners.

“Artemis?” Jason breathed in shock at his former teammate. “What are you doing here?”

“We came for Batman,” Artemis admitted. “We have business in his city.”

Jason glanced to Artemis’ current partner in confusion. “Batman is out of town with the Outsiders and Red Robin. Something about the League of Assassins. Red didn’t have much time to share details.”

Diana Prince, also known as Wonder Woman, gave a sharp nod. “So I’d heard. Agent A informed us when we arrived.”

Before Jason could say much else, Huntress reached her hand across Jason’s chest to shake hands with Artemis. “Name’s Huntress. I’ve heard quite a bit about you.”

“Likewise.”

Jason was very glad for his mask as both women gave him a glance.

_“Do they need us to pull back?”_

Jason glanced to where Babs was waiting before relaying the question to Diana. Diana glanced down to the warehouse.

“I think we’ll help you here, first,” Diana grinned. “Artemis has been telling me how much fun your little heists are.”

Was…was Wonder Woman praising him? Jason could die right now and be the happiest man alive.

He wouldn’t, though. Bruce and the others would be upset, and Helena would probably bring him back to life just so she could kill him herself. He did not want to deal with that. Still, Jason could die the happiest man alive.

“So what’s the situation?”

“Drug ring. Potentially selling to kids, and they’ve managed to bribe enough cops to get away with doing this in broad daylight to avoid us Bats. We figured we show them what the Birds of Prey could do.”

“Excellent! Let’s give them a real scare, shall we?”

\---------------------------

To the world, Leta Morgan was an Greek girl (not that anyone could tell that was her nationality) with dark black hair and purple eyes. Many people had looked up Alexandria’s Genesis and envied her ‘gift’. Only her roommate had any idea that Leta did not, in fact, have Alexandria’s Genesis. After all, the condition was supposed to make it so she never had her period, and that wasn’t the case at all. It was especially hard to hide that from your roommate. However, Leta had managed to convince her roommate that it was a result of being a meta, and that she let people _believe_ it was Alexandria’s Genesis because she didn’t want to draw Batman’s attention.

Personally, Leta would rather her eyes weren’t a problem at all. She had no difficulty using simple masking spells to hide her bright purple hair, but her eyes wouldn’t budge. She was lucky purple eyes were a rare genetic thing to begin with. It was easy enough to just keep her head down and no one dare look too closely.

But now…

“Your eyes are so pretty,” Maps cooed, squishing Leta’s face in her hands. “Do you see her eyes, Damian. They’re like magic.”

“Yes, Maps, her eyes are very pretty, but we have work to do?”

Maps suddenly let go of Leta’s face, but there was some weird expression.

“You think she’s pretty, Damian?”

Damian stiffened. “Well, no-I-yes-I mean-MAPS!”

The librarian rounded the corner to shush them, and Maps gave her a reassuring smile. As the librarian left, Maps shot Leta a wink. If Leta wasn’t red already, she certainly was now. She buried her face in her hands, missing the way her sleeve on her jacket fell just a little. Damian, however, noticed instantly. Not because there was a scar or something bad, but because there were gauntlets. Familiar gauntlets.

His eyes narrowed.

“Okay, so I ignored English class and began reading _The Odyssey_ ,” Maps plopped down. “My teacher didn’t care. In fact, he complimented my choice in book. But, wow, Odysseus is, like, a jerk.”

That snapped both Damian and Leta out of their contemplating and embarrassment as they both went off on Maps in a hushed whisper. Neither wanted to get kicked from the library, but neither was going to let Maps bash their hero.

“Okay. Okay,” Maps giggled. “I get it. Now, let’s see what we need to do for this assignment. Wouldn’t want Damian to miss his dinner.”

Damian huffed but let the argument drop. Leta did her best to pay attention through the discussion, giving out a few ideas for their project as they discussed. But Leta grew stiffer through their discussion. She found it hard to concentrate.

Her mother had found her. Not yet. Not fully. But she was in Gotham. And Batman wasn’t in town. She didn’t have enough time to run. Her mother would surely find her before then.

Leta didn’t want to be found.

“-gan!”

“Mor-!”

“-ser m-!”

“Mor-!?”

“Leta!”

Leta’s eyes flew open with a gasp, her hands instantly finding purchase on Damian’s jacket. He was gripping her elbows, trying to steady her. The ground. She was on the ground. How had she gotten there? This didn’t make sense. Why was Maps hovering over her?

“We should get her to the nurse,” came the shaky voice of the librarian.

“No,” Leta shook her head. “No, she’s coming. Please. She’s coming.”

“Who’s coming?” Damian questioned. “Morgan! Who’s coming?”

“My mother,” Leta whimpered. “My mother’s coming. Please. You have to help me.”

Damian and Maps exchanged glances, but Leta still gripped Damian in a death grip. The librarian was still trying to insist on going to the nurse, but Leta couldn’t go there. Her mother would find her. Maps suddenly leaned down to whisper in Damian’s ear, to which he nodded, something shifting in his expression and stance.

“I’ll take her,” Damian volunteered, suddenly lifting Leta into his arms. “Maps, you gather our stuff, alright?”

Maps nodded and rushed off. Leta, however, clung to Damian, begging him for aid, not fully aware. It wasn’t until Damian turned an odd corner that she realized they weren’t going to the nurse.

“Damian, where-?”

“To hide,” Damian stated. “And then you’re going to tell me what the heck is going on.”

Leta shrank down in his arms. She didn’t want to tell him. But the only way she could really get out of this was by using her magic, and that was too unstable.

\------------------------

“That was rather exciting,” Diana was beaming. “I can see why you preferred to stay with Jason.”

“He had his moments,” Artemis grinned coyly at said man. “I can certainly understand why you were so fond of Man’s World.”

To say Jason was surprised when he learned of Artemis and Diana’s history was an understatement. Not the fact that Artemis was bisexual, but the fact that Artemis and Diana had been a thing. It was far too obvious that Artemis was just as into girls as she was into men, though she was by far into the former more than the latter. But from what Artemis claimed of her history, her tribe in Bana-Mighdall hadn’t been fond of Themyscira for a long time, and there was still controversy. Artemis admitted that they left Themyscira under Akila’s orders, but she never talked about her time on Themyscira. Jason certainly hadn’t been aware that Artemis had trained Tim’s friend Cassie Sandsmark. Nor had he been aware that Artemis and Diana had been in a relationship.

Apparently, they still flirted. It was both painful to watch and extremely amusing. Had Jason not once harbored feelings for his teammate, it might have been simply amusing.

“I hate to break up the moment,” Babs stepped in. “But I doubt you came to Gotham for a social visit with Bruce. Is there something we can help with?”

Diana sighed, demeanor changing.

“As you are aware, after the timeline reset, several…friends and enemies were brought back,” Diana seemed entirely troubled by this, as most of them were. “I recently discovered that both Ares and Circe were released from Hades.”

The Birds shared glances. It was no secret that Ares and Circe were both formidable opponents. Both had made several attempts against the Amazons and Diana. It had been a relief for Diana when they were killed in battle and banished to the Underworld.

“So…what does that have to do with us?” Helena questioned.

Diana glanced to Artemis, getting a nod from the other warrior.

“We’re looking for her daughter, Hippolyta Milton,” Diana explained. “Both Circe and Ares believe her to be in Gotham. I originally believed that she died with her parents in the war of the Amazons, but I recently discovered that she survived and had been in hiding here, in Gotham. We hope to find her and help her before her parents have the chance to locate her.”

“Are we considering her a threat?” Helena questioned.

“We are unsure,” Artemis admitted. “She has trained with both the Amazons and with Ares himself. During the Amazon War, she fought with her father and mother, but we were never sure if it was by choice. Regardless, it would be best to prepare for anything.”

“Any idea where to start?”

The two women exchanged glances.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hippolyta Milton is NOT an OC. She is an actual character that literally got killed off for no reason other than the universe was resetting. She was roughly Damian's age by the time she died, so I thought it made sense to make them the same age.


	2. The Detec-Pizza Club

“Sorry.”

“Stop apologizing.”

“Sorry. Oh, wait. Sor-”

“Stop it.”

Leta snapped her jaw shut. They were in some sort of tunnel Maps had found a few semesters prior. She was going to meet them there once they were sure the coast was clear. With ‘help’. Leta took that to mean that the Mystery Club was going to make an appearance. Leta hardly remembered what happened, but Damian had no qualms giving her a rundown.

She had knocked over three bookshelves before promptly collapsing to the floor. Luckily, Damian had maneuvered Leta so that it looked like she had knocked into the shelves with her body. No one was hurt, thankfully.

“I don’t suppose I could convince you I’m a meta?”

Damian scoffed. “Those gauntlets say otherwise.”

“Oh.”

Leta looked to her wrists. She had worn them since Queen Hippolyta and Phillipus had gifted them to her. The two women had been so kind to her, if a little strict. The gauntlets were meant to help her control her magic, much like Diana’s placed a damper on her power.

“We can wait for the others, or you can speak now.”

“We can wait.”

Damian nodded sharply. He was…odd. That was the best word Leta could come up with to describe Damian Wayne. He seemed so strict, cold, and uncaring. But in the few hours Leta had gotten to know him, she knew it was more of a mask.

“Oh, good!” Maps’ voice washed over them. “You guys made it. That’s a relief!”

“Not so loud, Maps,” a girl Leta recognized as Olive Silverlock gently chastised. “We don’t want to alert anyone we’re here.”

“If we were going to get expelled, it would have happened a long time ago,” Maps huffed. “I think Headmaster Hammer likes us.”

Damian cocked a brow at that, easily getting waved off by Maps.

“I heard you knocked over some shelves,” Colton Rivera plopped down next to Leta. “Meta?”

Leta glanced away. “That’s what I tell people, but…Damian already saw.”

As Leta slid down the sleeves of her jacket and shirt, she watched as Maps’ eyes grew to the size of saucers and then some. Then Olive was gagging a squeal from the younger so that they didn’t alert the rest of the school.

“Those are Wonder Woman gauntlets,” Maps breathed in awe, pushing Olive’s hand away. “How did you-”

“Queen Hippolyta had them made for me,” Leta whispered. “To hide my magic.”

The group bulked, and Pomeline Fritch looked like it was Christmas.

“My name is Hippolyta Milton, daughter of the sorceress, Circe, and Ares, the god of War. I was trained by the Amazons before my father took me away and forced me to fight against Wonder Woman and the Amazons in the Amazon War. When my parents were banished to the Underworld, I faked my death and escaped under the alias Leta Morgan. But…”

“Your parents are back,” Damian sighed. “And now they’re looking for you.”

Leta nodded. “What you saw in the library was my mother trying to find me. I can only assume my father is looking for me too. I’m-I’m really sorry. Thank you for helping me, but I have to go. I have to leave Gotham.”

“She’ll find you.”

“I don’t have a choice,” Leta protested. “I’ve never really trained with my magic! I have no idea if I managed to deflect my mother or not!”

Damian’s eyes narrowed. “You really don’t remember what happened?”

Leta stared.

“Leta,” Maps placed a hand on her arm. “You threw all those people out of the way. That’s how no one got hurt. Most people just think you’re a meta, and the nurse we were supposed to take you to was Doctor Langstrom. Batman made a deal with Headmaster Hammer that he be here to help students like you and Olive.”

“But Maps and I both realized you weren’t a meta,” Damian continued. “Which is why we’re here instead.”

“We have a terrible knack of getting involved in these situations,” Kyle, Maps’ older brother, joked.

“But this isn’t some joke!” Leta protested. “One of my parents is a god! The other is a sorceress centuries old! You can’t just get involved!”

“Leta,” Olive stepped forward. “You’re right, you have powerful parents older than life itself. But you’re not the only one with powerful ancestors. And we’ve gone up against some of Gotham’s Rogues. It’s what we do.”

“And there is actual magic this time!” Pomeline cheered. “No way am I out!”

Leta stared at this group of people and could only think of one thing to say.

“You’re all insane.”

\---------------------------

They took Leta to Doctor Langstrom and Mrs. MacPherson, who were both concerned about Leta after the Detective Club (Pizza Club, Leta. Hammer Head doesn’t want a detective club) explained Leta’s situation. Mrs. MacPherson seemed rather resigned.

“I couldn’t stop them even if I tried,” Mrs. MacPherson explained, handing Leta a mug of hot coco. “Your classmates have a knack for getting into trouble, and they always fight to get out of it. It won’t be easy, and I understand if you’re scared, but you’re not alone.”

“But my parents aren’t like Gotham’s Rogues.”

“Well these kids aren’t normal kids,” she assured. “Trust them. Because whether either of us likes it or not, they’re involved.”

Mrs. MacPherson had then pulled some strings with Aunt Harriet to get Leta and the girls of the club into Maps and Olive’s dorm. The boys, who did not have as strict a caretaker, were joining the conversation through the crack in the dorm wall. Damian, of course, had gone home, but had snuck back some time later.

“Whether or not Leta managed to stop her mother or not, we need to assume that Circe knows exactly where Leta is,” Damian was speaking, clearly deep in thought. “However, we need to pretend that Leta just discovered she was a Meta. To us, we’ll be hiding a dangerous secret.”

“Wouldn’t be the first time,” Pomeline joked. “Welcome to the Pizza Club, Leta.”

“We should probably be taking this a bit more seriously,” Olive nudged Pomeline. “This is going to be _way_ different than Calamity. I mean, one of Leta’s parents is a god, and the other is an immortal sorceress. Both are legends.”

“Which is why we need to research,” Maps proceeded to dump the contents of her bag on the ground. “The new librarian was super nice and let me borrow all these books! I grabbed everything I could on Odysseus since we’re doing the _Odyssey_ , but some of the stuff has information on all sorts of other Greek characters too! We can do our school project and learn more about what we’re up against!”

“That’s…not a bad idea,” Damian conceded after a moment. “Though I don’t believe it wise for any of us to go up against either opponent, even if we are in a group. Even you, Silverlock.”

“Hadn’t planned on it,” Olive shrugged sheepishly. “Even with my friend’s help, it doesn’t take much for Amity to react. It would probably be best if I didn’t use my powers at all.”

Powers?

“I’ll catch you up later,” Maps whispered. “It’s a _long_ story.”

Leta just nodded.

“As fun as this conversation is,” Kyle’s voice filtered through. “We seem to have forgotten something.”

There was a pause as the rest of the group frowned. Kyle sighed in exasperation.

“Leta, you said your real name was Hippolyta Milton,” he elaborated, slowly, as if speaking to a spooked animal. Or maybe to let the others catch up. Probably both. “In public, we’ll need to call you Leta Morgan, but is there a name you would prefer us to use in private.”

Leta…froze for a moment. “I…don’t think so. My nickname growing up was Lyta, spelled with a ‘y’ instead of an ‘e’. I chose Leta because it was easier to remember and respond too. So there really isn’t much of a difference between my birth name and chosen name.”

“Leta it is then,” Kyle smiled. “Now I suggest we all get some rest. Leta’s going to have a lot of attention tomorrow, and we’ll need to deflect it at all costs.”

\--------------------------

“She’s _what?_ ”

“That’s what I said,” Artemis rolled her eyes. “I always knew Diana wished for a family, but I never believed she would ever actually have one. She has a terrible habit of distancing herself from others. Flirting relentlessly one moment and turning away another. But Steve Trevor has been good for her. We will see how things go from here.”

Diana was pregnant. That was the bomb Artemis had just dropped on Jason. It was…bizarre to think of, really. His little sister was going to be born in a few months, and now Diana was two months pregnant. All they need now was for Lois and Clark to have a child and their would be a new generation trinity. Come to think of it, both Tim and Jason, himself, had completed their own trinity. Dick just didn’t have a kryptonian, though Clark could be considered honorary. Then there was Linda Danvers’ as Matrix, but she had never formerly joined the Titans. Damian hadn’t technically closed the trinity either. He didn’t have an Amazon, and his Super had been trapped in time and come back a seventeen year old.

“The year for trouble,” Jason found himself muttering, getting a glare from Artemis. “Oh, come on, Princess, think about it. If Diana’s kid and my unborn sister become friends, we both know first-hand the kind of trouble a Bat and a Wonder can get up too.”

Something in Artemis’ expression softened. “I suppose you’re right.”

Artemis was still as beautiful as ever, and despite their agreement to remain friends, Jason couldn’t find that he regretted anytime spent with her. Even now. In a few hours, they would need to begin the search for Hippolyta Milton. Diana and Artemis had a few ideas of where the girl could be hiding, but nothing concrete. For now, however, they could wait. Circe and Ares had yet to enter Gotham.

“Have you ever desired a family, Jason?”

“Yes.”

Artemis rolled over to glance at Jason, only the light of the moon peeking through the curtains gave Jason a glance of her. She seemed deep in thought. An expression Jason had grown familiar with on her face.

“Would you stop this life if you had one?”

Jason sucked in a breath, held it, and released his answer with his exhale.

“I don’t think I can.”

Artemis was silent. Troubled.

“I’ve watched my family try,” Jason explained further, hoping to ease Artemis. “I’ve seen them try to settle only to get dragged back into the fray. Dick, Tim, Cass, Steph. They all fight to leave and ultimately get dragged back towards the battle. I think…I think I would _need_ to continue this life. I’m bound to the All-Caste, destined to destroy the Untitled. The Lazarus Pit in me craves blood constantly. I don’t think I would have a choice in whether or not I could leave this life. But if I ever did have a family, I would make _sure_ they were just as important, if not more, as protecting Gotham.”

There was silence for a moment, the two simply listening to the breathing of the other.

“I admire you for that,” Artemis whispered, her hand suddenly tracing scars on his chest. “I don’t think I could ever do that. Give my life to my children just as fully as I give it to protecting others. Even with a great evil running through you and a burden weighing you down, there is no doubt in my mind that you would succeed in that life. You would make an excellent father.”

Jason felt his throat go dry. He knew Artemis well enough to know something was wrong.

“Artemis?”

“Promise me you’ll protect them. Where I cannot.”

Jason’s eyes blew wide. Was she…was she seriously saying…?

“I’m sorry,” Artemis breathed. “So sorry.”

“Hey. Hey. No,” Jason reached forward. “No, Artemis. Hey, look at me,” he lifted her chin, glanced over her now. “Don’t apologize. But, are you…are we really…”

Artemis’ eyes locked with his. “The Oracle foresaw it. Our daughters will be great. They will fight beside our loved ones.”

This felt like a goodbye. Jason hated goodbyes. As Artemis wept, Jason curled around her. Whatever was going to happen, Jason wouldn’t let it. He couldn’t.

Sleep did not come easily that night. In the morning, he would go to Helena, lament the woes he had learned, and only partially regret his actions. But that regret wouldn’t linger. He would never truly regret that night. Helena would never let him regret the miracles that would come. But for now, Jason would remain present with Artemis. His Princess. He would hold her together as they prepared for the battle to come.

\-------------------------------

“She is strong.”

“Yet untrained.”

Circe glared at Ares. Unlike Ares, Circe had _never_ wanted to drag her daughter into this life. Her quarrel with Diana was her own. There was no need for her daughter to be dragged into this. Yes, Circe had been furious that Diana had taken her daughter to Themyscira, but grateful too. Her daughter had been loved, at the very least. When Ares had taken her daughter, Circe had been furious, and she tried in vain to save her daughter from becoming a weapon. Her only relief was when Lyta had been spared a trip to the Underworld.

Now Ares was using her to find her own daughter so that the mad-man could form her into a weapon. Circe had no choice. She was forced to where a crown of Moly, preventing her magic from working fully. Circe was using it to her advantage.

“If you do not find your daughter, I will have no problem tearing Gotham apart.”

“You would entice the rage of the Bat?”

Ares grinned wickedly. “I find it funny you think I fear a mere human.”

Circe kept the thought to herself. But; _she found it funny that he didn’t fear said human._

Even Diana both feared and loved the Batman of Gotham. Circe was well aware that the man wasn’t currently in Gotham, but it was only a matter of time before he returned. His children were also not something to underestimate. If Diana chose to involve them, Circe had no doubt Ares would lose. She hoped he suffered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Plot twist!!
> 
> In case you haven't figured it out yet, each and every one of my stories in this series are linked. They feed off each other. You will be hearing more about Diana's daughter, and Jason and Artemis' twins in the coming future.
> 
> NOTE: Please remember that prophecies, especially with the Greeks, don't always mean what they seem. Furthermore; remember that the Greeks also tend to exclude parts of prophecies when they are shared.


	3. The Effects of Moly on Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I realized most of this book was me dumping my weird knowledge of Greek Mythology on all of you, and then this chapter flipped that around when I had to do EXTENSIVE research into Moly.

Leta Morgan blamed her Greek heritage for a laurel tree being her favorite place to hide. Then again, her father had never been fond of Apollo, and the story behind why Apollo loved laurel trees was nothing short of harassment. At the least. After the day Leta had, however, she didn’t care that she hid in the branches of a tree her “uncle” had claimed. She simply wished to hide away from the world.

She was, of course, reading the _Odyssey._ It seemed fitting to read a tale of a man who had bested her mother, and Leta needed all the tips she could get. But Odysseus and his method of outsmarting her mother were not options Leta had.

“An effective hiding place,” came the clipped voice of Gotham’s youngest prince. “I almost didn’t see you.”

“I didn’t want to be found,” Leta pointed out.

“Tt.”

Damian said no more, making himself comfortable among the branches. His own, worn copy of the _Odyssey_ was brought out, and nothing more was said. Leta’s training kicked in, and she observed Damian.

Despite giving the illusion of relaxation, there was an underlying tension in the boy’s muscles. Not as though he were uncomfortable, but as though he were expecting an attack. However, he was clearly not expecting said attack from Leta. He leaned _towards_ her with his body, as if expecting to defend first, attack second. Despite his gaze on the page, there was a slight tension to his face that gave the hint of being observant.

“You’re a warrior.”

Damian’s gaze shifted to her, completely calm and calculated.

“Sorry. That…that just came out. I mean, you’re like me. Trained to fight. I can see it.”

“Tt. Your skills are sharp. Though I shouldn’t be surprised when it comes to an Amazon.”

“I’m not an Amazon.”

“Because of your parentage?” Damian scoffed. “I’m am unsure of your knowledge, but your parentage makes you more of an Amazon than Wonder Woman. Queen Hippolyta is a daughter of Ares, as are her blood sisters. You are the half-sister of Queen Hippolyta, and a warrior female, are you not?”

Leta bit back a retort. He…wasn’t wrong. Queen Hippolyta, Antiope, and Melanippe were all daughters of Ares, and strong warriors. The Amazons had welcomed her with open arms. But she had sided with her father in the Amazon War.

“We make mistakes, Morgan. There is nothing to be done but to seek forgiveness and work to become better.”

“Why do you do that?”

Here, Damian did pause. “Do what?”

“Call people by their last name? It’s kind of mean. Like you’re attempting to prove your better than everyone.”

Damian’s eyes narrowed.

“I’m not trying to be offensive,” Leta quickly defended. “But…why do you keep people at arms length? Doesn’t it get lonely?”

Damian huffed, and Leta was just about to apologize when Damian stopped her.

“It’s easier to endure disappointment when people are at a distance.”

“No. I think it makes it worse.”

“And what would you know?”

Leta, for the first time, gathered her bearing and flat out glared. Damian actually winced.

“I apologize. That was uncalled for.”

“Leta.”

“What?”

“Call me Leta. Please.”

“Of course. Leta.”

\--------------------------------

“Why does your mother hate Wonder Woman?”

Leta frowned. She…wasn’t exactly sure. “I think it had something to do with a prophecy.”

Damian instantly made a face that had Maps staring at their partner in confusion.

“Your mother tried to translate a prophecy, didn’t she?”

“I…think?”

“Is that a bad thing?” Maps asked.

“That is the absolute worst thing you can do,” Damian hissed. “Do they know nothing of their own history. Every idiot who tries to translate a prophecy always ends up making the prophecy come true!”

“Doesn’t that mean they were right all along?” Pomeline appeared behind them.

“Tt.”

“Percy Jackson seems to think so,” Leta offered with a grin.

“Who the heck is Percy Jackson?”

Leta was positively scandalized by Damian’s question. “You’re uncultured.”

“Wasn’t there a movie-?”

“Nope!” Leta cut Kyle off as he joined their lunch table. “No movie! Just books!”

“Is Circe in _Percy Jackson_?” Maps redirected the conversation.

“Yeah, she’s in _The Sea of Monsters_ ,” Leta nodded. “She turns Percy into a guinea pig instead of a pig. Annabeth managed to save Percy by giving him multivitamins from Hermes that made them immune to her magic.”

“Similar to how Odysseus ate the Moly herb gifted to him by Hermes,” Damian hummed. “I will have to look into this Percy Jackson.”

Something in Leta’s brain clicked.

“Moly,” she breathed. “That’s how we can stop my mother.”

“What?”

“The Moly herb,” Leta pressed. “My mother and I are both powerless against it. By consuming it, a person can be temporarily immune to her magic power. That was how Odysseus managed to prevent my mother from turning him into a pig. You all need to ingest Moly.”

“But wouldn’t that hurt you, too?” Pomeline frowned. “I mean, you just said that it can be used against your mother _and_ you.”

“Exactly,” Leta beamed. “If my father tries to come for me, he’ll already have ingested Moly. He’s not a fool, so there would be nothing I could do. But with my mother, assuming she comes on her own, she’ll try to use magic to sway me. Moly won’t hurt me, but it will ensure that she can’t harm any of you with her magic.”

“But wasn’t the Moly a gift from Hermes?” Colton pointed out. “Wouldn’t that, I don’t know, do something with it?”

“Yes, it made the herb a permanent fixture in Odysseus. Normal Moly would only make the effects temporary, so you’d need to constantly eat it to ensure my mother wouldn’t be able to attack you. But the Moly gifted to Odysseus by Hermes allowed for him to be permanently immune to my mother’s magic, hence why the two became lovers.”

“Ew,” Maps gagged.

“As good of an idea as that is, we need to consider something else first,” Olive pipped up. “Where on Earth would we even get Moly.”

“I know a place.”

The group glanced to Damian.

\---------------------

Operating in broad daylight was a pain, especially now that Jason was recognized as “alive” and a Wayne. Which was why the ladies of the group had gotten all dressed up for a day on the town while Jason sat by and played Oracle.

_“Have you called Damian yet?”_

“I contacted him, Wing, and the Outsiders, but none of the above have responded,” Jason huffed over his comms. “But given how Damian swore he wouldn’t get expelled again, I’m not surprised he’s attempting to lay low.”

Dinner the other night had gone well. Jason was supposed to meet with some of Bruce’s business partners while Bruce and Tim were “out of town”. Damian hadn’t bothered to say much other than polite conversation, and then he had vanished to his room. Only to sneak out, but given Damian’s current headache of a life, Jason wasn’t going to bother the kid. Especially with more important things to worry about.

Helena snorted over the comms. _“He can be quite determined.”_

“Doesn’t it look a little weird for you to be talking to yourself?” Jason huffed.

_“Not if it looks like I’m talking on my phone.”_

“Touché.”

The conversation was entirely between Helena and Jason. The others were muted so that Jason could hear them, but they could not hear him. He hadn’t told Helena about his discussion with Artemis the night prior. Come morning, they had both gone straight to business, but Jason ached to learn more of the Oracle’s prophecy about his daughters. Artemis had relayed some information about Diana’s daughter, something about giving birth to dreams or something, but Artemis had been too distraught to explain further.

But those thoughts were a distraction. He didn’t have time for a distraction.

“If I were a little girl trying to escape my crazy parents, where would I go?”

_“Someplace easy to blend in,”_ Helena supplied, amusement in her tone. _“Though I’m not sure how I’d feel about you turning into a teenage girl.”_

Jason ignored her. Somewhere easy to blend in. Well, in Gotham, his first thought would be the streets. But given Hippolyta Milton was a young girl with bright purple hair, purple eyes, and magic, that would get her easily noticed. So she would need to go somewhere that no one would cast her a second glance. So where would-

Oh.

“Dang it, Damian!” Jason glanced to his phone. “I swear if you’ve gotten yourself involved.”

_“Talk to me, Jay,”_ Helena pressed. _“What are you thinking?”_

“Imagine you’re a kid who needs to stay hidden,” Jason rushed out. “You’ve got powers and an odd look to you, so the streets are out. Where would you go to be inconspicuous.”

_“I don’t-”_ Helena sucked in a breath. _“School.”_

“We’ll need to hit up every school in Gotham, but given that she stole a large sum of money from her father, I think it’s safe to say she would have used Gotham Academy as an option. Especially since a lot of weird things have been happening there.”

_“Yeah, there is no way Damian isn’t involved already.”_

That was what Jason was afraid of.

Dang it, Bruce. What a time for him to be away.

_“Send the others to the other schools,”_ Helena’s voice pulled Jason from his thoughts. _“I’ll take GA, and I’ll let you know what I find. I’m sure Damian is fine.”_

\---------------------------------

“You want what?”

“Moly.”

Poison Ivy, the literal Poison Ivy, one of Gotham’s Rogues, stared at the group of children that had arrived outside her jungle. Harley was amused behind her, grinning brightly and making faces at the group.

“And why do you want Moly?”

“Because we need it to fend off an evil sorceress,” Maps pressed. “She’s after our friend.”

Leta gave a slight wave, not really sure what else to do.

“That is…if it’s okay with you,” Olive insisted quickly, placing a hand on Maps’ shoulder to prevent her from saying anything to offend the Lady of the Green. “We realize how much your plants mean to you, Ms. Ivy. How much the green means to you. If you would prefer we not eat the green, we would understand, but we would ask you to help us come up with an alternative, please.”

Ivy seemed conflicted. “Who…exactly are you trying to protect your friend from.”

“Circe.”

The green seemed to shift wildly behind Ivy, and the Plant Woman went stiff.

“What have you little seedlings gotten into?” Ivy whispered in horror. “Come. Each of you. We will need to work quickly. Is this all of you?”

Olive shook her head. “I had a study hall, and Leta is supposed to be visiting the nurse with Maps. We are really sorry to disturb you, but Circe is Leta’s mother, and we’re terrified of the woman getting her hands on our friend.”

“As you should be,” Ivy nodded, motioning Harley over. “I assume this means Moly would not be favorable to Leta either. Lucky for you, the Green remembers, and it has a way to help both Leta and your friends. But I will need time.”

“Whatever you can give us,” Olive breathed in relief. “Thank you, Ms. Ivy. You have no idea what this means to us.”

“Given what you young seedlings have gotten into, I think I have an idea,” Ms. Ivy stated, already concocting something. “More than you do.”

The last part was meant to be said silently, but only Leta heard it. The worst part was, that Leta knew that to be true. Her new friends were dangerously underestimating the situation. In the end, it would be up to her to make sure none of them died. Even if it meant their efforts were in vein. But at the same time, Leta had a feeling that she was seriously underestimating her friends.

That didn’t make her feel any better.

“Here you are, dears,” Ivy handed a vile to Olive. “Unlike eating the Moly, this concoction will let the Moly’s effects last longer in your system, and it will last faster. Sort of like a fast acting medicine.”

“Like Dayquill and nyquill vs. pain medication,” Maps nodded understandingly. “Thank you Ms. Ivy. It was really nice to meet you and Ms. Harley! You’re cute!”

Ivy flushed as Harley gave a squeal of delight, and the three girls began their plan to sneak back into school. Honestly, getting expelled was the least of Leta’s worries as they did their best to sneak around.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired of DC jumping between Harley and Ivy being heroes or villains. It's almost as bad as Jason Todd's limbo right now. Like, just pick one! Make him an anti-hero for all I care! Stop building my babies up and demonizing them the next! Ugh.
> 
> On a side note; I'm trying to do research on characters in the DC Universe that are CURRENTLY dead. But all my search results keep popping up as "Top Ten Character Deaths in the DC Universe". And I finally found a list of dead characters, but it's every death that has ever happened in the DC, and I the way the page was set up isn't exactly user friendly. 
> 
> Can anyone tell me who is currently dead in the DC Universe, please?


	4. Plan of Action

Just as Poison Ivy said, her Moly concoction worked instantly. Though not painful, Leta could feel the Moly radiating from her friends, and was glad to know that they were each protected. The vile currently stayed with Pomeline as she was by far the least likely to break their only chance at staying alive against the sorceress. Ares, however, was another matter. Leta knew, logically, that if she tried to reach out to Diana, her sister in arms would come to her aid. But Leta also knew that her father and mother would twist the summon against Leta.

She couldn’t risk it.

But unlike her mother, who had a weakness as simple as Moly, Leta wasn’t sure what to use against her father. It wasn’t that simple. Odysseus did not really encounter her father during his journey, much to Leta’s disdain. If anyone were to be able to combat the god of war, it would have been him. So Leta had nothing to go on.

“Not quite,” Colton boasted that night as he slammed down a box. “It is common knowledge that the Greeks strongly believe in fatal flaws, and your old man has quite a few.”

“Oh?” Damian pressed as Colton passed around copies of _Percy Jackson._ “And what, pray tell, are those flaws.”

“Ares is a hot head,” Colton beamed. “He’s impulsive, for one. He’ll never hesitate to join a fight. And his anger has been known to get the best of him. It’s no joke that in war, Ares would slaughter us. But we don’t need to start a war. Just push his buttons.”

“Like Percy Jackson did when Ares confronted him about the lightning bolt,” Olive nodded in thought, picking up _The Lightning Thief_. “Even Annabeth, a child of Athena thought Percy was mad, but he simply insulted Ares into a fight and won with his wit and sass.”

“That don’t call him Persassy for nothing,” Colton cackled. “So if you wanted to beat Ares in a fight, you’ve got to have the battle skills and the ability to push someone’s buttons.”

Maps shifted her gaze to Damian, who gave her a glance back.

“I think we can handle that,” Maps said. “But, like, even if we did manage to pull a Percy Jackson and win against Ares, how do we stop him from just coming back?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? Leta knew full well that her father would never just step back and forget her. Leta would live the rest of her life looking over her shoulder, waiting for an attack.

“Then we take Leta to people who can protect her,” Damian stated firmly. “People who will stay by her side when we can’t.”

“Did you just call her ‘Leta’?”

“Shut up.”

“And what do we have here?”

The group glanced up to see Headmaster Hammer standing at their table.

“History project,” Maps answered easily. “Damian, and Leta are in my group! We’re studying Odysseus and I read the _Odyssey_. But then we found out Damian never read _Percy Jackson_ so were having a convention cause he’s uncultured.”

Damian huffed. “I personally prefer the classic literature to this riff-raff, but this Rick Riordan has a clever understanding for mythology. We are comparing the exploits of the two heroes, Headmaster.”

“A very interesting method,” the Headmaster seemed impressed. “Though I must admit, even though Odysseus had far more tact than Percy Jackson, Percy Jackson was not a hero to be overlooked. Carry on.”

The group watched as Headmaster Hammer left them to their work.

“Did Hammer Head just confess to reading _Percy Jackson_?”

\------------------------------

When Helena first became Huntress, and acknowledged her friend’s desire to get home, she knew, without a doubt, that she would be up against the impossible. There was no doubt that Darkseid was going to interfere with Kara’s plans, and there were far more heroes in this world than there had been in hers at the time. So, to combat the oncoming threats, Helena became the impossible. She became a skilled fighter beyond what her own father knew. She sought out new methods to handle enemies. She sharpened her mind so she could calculate anything and everything. Most importantly, she chose to acknowledge that there were impossibilities, such as gods and monsters, and learned to fight them.

Helena knew the exact moment both Ares and Circe arrived in Gotham. She could feel as the came into the mirror image of her city, despite the cloaking they were wearing. So when Jason mentioned Gotham Academy, Helena went without a second thought. Because Jason was clever, not that the Bats gave him credit for it, but his mind was sharp. He could think circles around both the Bats and Rogues if he truly put his mind to it.

“Huntress.”

Helena stared down at the group of children Damian was with. She had to admit, Hippolyta Milton was doing a rather impressive job of hiding herself, though she suspected the gauntlets were a helpful little knick-knack. She was also rather impressed at the feeling coming off the other children, Damian included. Perhaps a way to ward of Circe. Moly was a weakness, and Hippolyta was reacting rather negatively towards the herb. Her disguise was rather clever, too.

“Mr. Wayne,” Helena nodded. “Judging by the situation, you already know the danger you’re in.”

“Leta isn’t a danger.”

Huntress cocked a brow. To anyone else, it might have been testing. To Damian, it was teasing, a sign that Damian wasn’t going to live down the fact he called someone by their first name.

“She’s our friend,” Olive Silverlock spat. Helena had to remind herself that Olive wasn’t overly fond of vigilantes. “We’re not going to let you take her away.”

“Believe me, I have no intention of doing so,” Helena raised her hands in mock surrender. “The fact that she’s befriended each of you is already a plus in my book. I’m only here because her parents are gods, and someone needs to stop them.”

Damian furrowed his brow, testing Helena’s word. Helena matched his gaze.

“Wonder Woman and her partner, Artemis of Bana-Mighdall, have both arrived in Gotham,” Helena continued. “They recently learned that Hippolyta was alive, and they’ve been searching for her since Ares and Circe made an attempt to locate her.”

“Leta,” Maps corrected. “Her name is Leta.”

“I apologize,” Helena let herself smile. “Neither Wonder Woman, nor Artemis wish to hurt you, Leta. Not unless you intend to hurt them. They simply wish to protect you.”

“I’m sure you’ll understand why we don’t trust that statement,” Pomeline hissed.

“I’d be insulted if you did.”

It was clear by the fact that Helena managed to track Damian and his friends to the North Wing that the group had been planning something for quite some time. The Moly was the first big hint, but this was the second. Damian still seemed to be contemplating Helena’s presence, and Leta seemed uncertain of the situation.

“Ares and Circe are in Gotham,” Helena decided to press on. “We’re unaware if they know Leta’s exact location or not, but they’re searching. Wonder Woman and Artemis have managed to keep a low profile, but we’re uncertain how long it will take for the gods to realize they are here. Batman is currently out dealing with a greater problem and we have yet to reach him. Which means you’re stuck with us birds to defend you.”

“Does that mean we’ll get to see Batgirl again?” Maps asked eagerly.

Helena let herself laugh. “Maybe. It’ll depend on what this fight is going to bring us, and I’d prefer you stayed away from that.”

“We have our own way to fight them,” Colton Rivera, if Helena remembered correctly, huffed. “We don’t need heroes to help us.”

“Agree to disagree,” Helena let her gaze temporarily shift to Damian. “But I’ll convince the Wonders to keep their distance for now. I’d rather we be on friendly terms in case something goes south.”

The group seemed to turn to Olive for guidance, though Damian placed a gentle hand on Leta’s. Leta seemed to have her own thoughts on the situation, though she was keeping them mostly to herself. Interesting.

“We’ll trust you for now,” Olive claimed, voice laced with steel. “But if you betray us-”

“I understand,” Helena agreed.

And with those words, Helena let herself leave into the night, making sure the students hadn’t been followed by students, teachers, or any other guests. Then she opened her comm.

“Did you get that?”

_“Loud and clear,”_ the comms cackled with Jason’s voice. _“I trust you’ll keep an eye on them.”_

“For as long as I can,” Helena agreed, watching as the kids vanished into a set of tunnels Helena had already gotten a copy of a map from Mia Mizoguchi for. Well, Mizoguchi hadn’t given her the map. She had broken into the girls room while the kids were in the library and copied it herself. “They have a plan, I believe.”

_“Oh?”_

“Have you ever read the _Odyssey?”_

 _“Course,”_ Jason huffed, offended. Helena couldn’t stop her smile, just picturing Jason’s offended look. _“What do you take me for, Hel?”_

“My best friend,” Helena didn’t wait for Jason to stop sputtering as she continued. “They’re using Moly to ward off Circe. I might not have realized what it was had Leta not reacted oddly to the others. It doesn’t seem painful, but magic will be unusable against them.”

_“Alright,”_ Jason hummed, brow probably furrowed in thought. He always looked so angry when he frowned. _“I can see why Moly would be a good thing, but what about Ares? He doesn’t have as obvious of a weakness, and Odysseus never confronted Ares during his journey. The most we got about the god or war was a detailed song about his affair with Aphrodite.”_

“True,” Helena clicked her tongue. “But you should know not to underestimate your little brother by now. Has he told you his plan to take down Superman if the need arose?”

Jason laughed. _“He’s a firecracker, I’ll give him that, but he’s a kid, Hel. My brother, too, for all his faults. I don’t want the kid getting himself killed.”_

“I wouldn’t let that happen.”

Dick Grayson of Earth 2 once called Helena Wayne superhuman as she took on gods and monsters. No challenge was too large. No battle was too difficult. She just took things in strides, fighting for her family and loved ones. Helena Wayne was a wonder, and this was just another challenge she would stare down and win.

Her family was gone, but this family stood tall. Helena would protect it with her dying breath. She would save them all or die trying.

_“Don’t do something stupid, Helena,”_ Jason scolds over the comms, grounding Helena back to the Earth she currently occupies. _“I actually like my partner alive.”_

Helena can’t bring herself to feel guilty. Losing Roy Harper had taken a toll on Jason. Losing Artemis and Bizarro had left him open. He often credited his willingness to return home due to his desperation for people to be in his life. Helena knew better. So did Jason. But losing Roy Harper had scraped Jason raw, and Helena had become that friend for Jason. Just as Jason had done the same for her.

“You should know better than to underestimate me,” Helena teased, hearing the snort on Jason’s end. “I’ll come back, and I’ll bring Damian with me. You know I will.”

_“Yeah. Yeah I do.”_

\-------------------------------

“That was weird,” Maps finally voiced as they moved further into the cave. “Right? That wasn’t just me?”

“No, it was definitely weird,” Olive agreed, adjusting her bundle of supplies. “But, she works with Batgirl, right? And I actually like Batgirl. Maybe Batgirl put in a good word or something?”

Leta noticed that Damian was oddly quiet through the discussion as the others chipped in. Then again, she was pretty quiet herself, but that was another matter entirely. Damian had instantly addressed Huntress without a second thought as she confronted them. It had eased the tension, but it was subconscious. Because Damian had subconsciously relaxed when Huntress entered the room, so the rest of them had followed suit.

“You knew her,” Leta whispered.

Damian didn’t say anything, not that Leta expected him too.

“Child of the god of war, remember?” Leta prompted, trying for something to cancel out her own thoughts. “I’m naturally observant. Both the Amazons and my father taught me to master that skill. I may not look like it, but I’m a skilled fighter.”

“I’m aware,” Damian admitted, keeping his own voice low. There was silence between them for a moment. “How do you do it?”

“Do what?”

“Be…kind?” Damian’s brow furrowed, clearly aware of how bizarre the question was. “You were trained to be a weapon. Trained to fight and kill. Trained to take the place of your parents. Yet you aren’t stuck up or crass. You want to protect others on your own terms, despite what you were raised to be.”

There was desperation in Damian’s voice. Like he found Leta an enigma. Leta supposed that was natural, considering Damian was just like her. She wasn’t sure how, but she could see it in him, just as she saw it in herself.

Leta set down her supplies and motioned Damian to do the same. Then she hugged him.

“Having people who love you help,” Leta whispered into Damian’s ear as he stiffened at the touch. “And I don’t mean as weapons. My mother loved me once. She treated me as her daughter rather than a weapon before Ares stole me. And even the Amazons showed me love. I am kind because I know love. And because I know love, I can share that, if you’ll let me.”

Damian hesitated, the air thick with tension, but his arms slowly came to rest around her. Damian didn’t pull away as Maps joined the hug, or as Katherine stretched around them. Slowly but surely, the others did the same. Damian didn’t cry, not like in those cheesy movies where a hug makes a person break down, but he let out a breath that sounded almost wet into Leta’s wig, and his arms drew marginally tighter around her. Not enough for anyone to see, but enough that a skilled observer like Leta would feel instantly.

Leta decided she knew how to repay Damian in that moment. She would show him how to be kind, and she would be his friend. Then again, she guessed risking your life for a complete stranger who could have killed you meant they were already friends, so that part was already covered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Can you tell I like Percy Jackson?


	5. Tales of Great Misfortune

The plan, to put it simply, was to undermine Ares. The group was banking on Circe using her magic, and perhaps her charm, to sway the group. But the only people who would really be affected by Circe’s charm were Damian, Tristan, and Kyle. It was an odd way for Colton to come out to the rest of the group, but the oddity of the situation to which Colton finally admitted to being gay was forgotten by the awe that Colton trusted them more than his own parents.

But back on track, the Pizza Club was fairly alright with their plan against Circe, and it was Ares they feared the most. There was a reason he was one of the most known gods of Olympus, after all. He didn’t hold his throne for no reason.

“So how will stupid, mundane traps work against Ares?” Kyle eyed their current contraption. “No offense to you skills, Colton, but I don’t think covering Ares in Cheetos is going to help the situation.”

“What?” Colton glanced at their supplies. “Oh! No, I have no intention of covering Ares in Cheetos. Those are for snack time.”

“Then what is the plan?” Damian questioned. “This all seems like useless junk.”

“I am working with what I have,” Colton huffed bitterly. “The schools still got me under tight surveillance since Hammer Head nearly expelled me. Besides, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure, and I’ve got just enough stuff to make a few explosives if necessary, but most of this will be used in those traps I’m making. The goal is to slow Ares down at the least. So if we rig a few devices, we might be able to deter him until we get to the bigger trap.”

“Okay,” Pomeline nodded along. “I can see the thought behind this. But what do we do about students walking through the traps? Or teachers? It won’t be hard to trace your handy-work.”

“That is true,” Colton agreed. “Which is why we’ll need to talk with the Headmaster.”

There was a pause. A very long, very tense pause.

“WHAT!?!?!”

\-----------------------------

Arriving in Gotham, Circe had mourned her inability to use her magic to properly find her daughter. The crown of Moly was worn like a brand, carefully weaved into her hair and covered by a shawl. To the world, she looked like the complacent wife of a businessman. She hated every minute of it.

“Come now my dear,” Ares reached out to comb a hand through her hair. Taunting her. “Give us a little smile. Soon our daughter will be home and we can live as a happy family.”

Circe waited for Ares to get in her face before she spat in his eye. The result was Ares yanking her head back as he forced her to ingest the Moly he had procured. It wasn’t enough to kill her, but it was enough to weaken her. She would have no way to save her daughter from Ares’ grasp now.

_Forgive me, Lyta, my love._

_“Mother?”_

Circe let out a stuttering breath, a breath that could have easily been mistaken as a gasp for air after choking on the Moly. Ares was already preparing to leave and head to the school to fetch her little girl. But Circe took peace in the fact that her daughter had reached back. Their souls were connected, and knowing that her daughter still yearned for her was enough.

It had to be enough.

“Hey, Red! You were right! That poor plant was being used for something sinister!”

What in Hera’s name was that?

\-----------------------------------

“I’m not fond of this decision,” Diana stated.

“I didn’t think you would be,” Jason hummed, gaze still flitting about the security. “Regardless, these particular children are special. Enough so that both Dr. Kirk Langstrom and a hired aid are keeping an eye on them. And given their history with Batman, vigilantes aren’t exactly all that welcome, which would explain why Damian has chosen to stay in civilian mode for these events.”

It hadn’t been hard to confirm that Damian had been sneaking out shortly after coming back to the Manor. Alfred had assumed the boy was going out as Robin, so he was surprised when Jason pointed out that Damian was leaving his Robin suit behind. He took basic essentials and a few gadgets, however, and it wasn’t hard to find Damian heading back to the school.

Jason found the irony of breaking back into school rather amusing.

“I would feel more comfortable if we were present,” Artemis interjected.

“While I can see where you’re coming from, I’ll have to agree with Jason on this one,” Babs voiced, pulling the two women’s gaze to her. “Damian has never been one to outright trust someone. Not without a fight. Yet he’s risking both Bruce’s anger and his identity by going to the group. Likewise, I’ve met both Olive and Maps. Maps generally has a sixth sense about when something’s wrong, and Olive has been betrayed far too many times for her to outright trust a person again, not after she nearly burned all of Gotham to the ground and almost killed her friends in the process. And though both Olive and Maps respect and admire Batgirl, neither is fond of vigilantes. Damian is aware of this, which is why he hasn’t revealed Robin to them.”

Now that Jason knew the truth, and was in the same room as Diana, he could see how she held herself. She was still tall and proud, but she was also subconsciously shielding her stomach. That could be a liability in the battle to come. As for Artemis, Jason wasn’t sure the shock of the revelation had yet registered with her. Or perhaps she couldn’t wrap her head around it.

Unlike Diana, Artemis was not the type of person who desired a family, and something about their night together still bothered Jason. He needed to know more about the prophecy.

“I’ll take watch,” Babs placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder. “You go rest. I’ll let you know if something comes up.”

Jason didn’t need to be told twice. Diana and Artemis must have already gone upstairs by the time Babs relieved Jason, and it was Jason’s own fault he had gotten lost in his own head. Bruce would have called him irresponsible, but given the situation, he didn’t really care.

“Jason.”

Diana. He admired this woman more than words would ever be able to claim. She was his hero growing up, and even now, she was still his favorite.

“Can we talk,” Diana motioned to the library.

Jason could only nod as Diana led him to the library and they sat beside the fire. She seemed to be contemplating how to begin.

“When I…first realized I was pregnant, I went to Themyscira almost immediately to share the news with my mother and sisters. I told Steve first, of course, but he understood my desire to share the news, and he understood our customs.”

Jason had read enough books on Greek mythology to understand where this was going.

“You went to the Oracle.”

Diana nodded, still contemplating. “I took my sister, Nubia, with me, and I brought Artemis as well. I have yet to tell Cassie and Donna, but…what we were told had the three of us shaken.”

Jason’s brow furrowed. The Greeks were always tales of tragedy, and only Perseus was spared the fate of utter tragedy by being placed in the stars with those he loved. Though Jason and the Argonauts could also be described as without tragedy as he managed to die a peaceful death with his crew. Still, going to the Oracle often meant learning of a terrible fate. One that often spelled death, if legend was to be believed.

“My child, my daughter, is to marry fate,” Diana explained hand moving to her stomach as her gaze fell into the flames of the fireplace. “From her bond with fate, she will give birth to dream. It was such an odd prophecy that I still am unsure what to make of it. I have prayed for Athena’s wisdom or Apollo’s guidance, but neither have answered my plea, and I am resigning myself to wait.”

Jason sucked in a slow breath. “But that wasn’t all that the Oracle told you.”

“No. You can imagine our horror when she turned to Artemis next.”

The flames in the hearth flickered, as if coaxing Diana to continue. Hestia was the goddess of the hearth, if Jason remembered correctly. She had a tendency to appear in the flames to provide wisdom and love to a home. Jason found himself too afraid to look towards the fires. He did not want to see the face of the goddess.

“Artemis’ prophecy was far darker,” Diana continued, as if encouraged by Hestia in the flames. “Her words claimed….her words claimed that the birth of her daughters would signal the end of her life.”

Jason sucked in a horrified breath.

“Whether figurative or literal, we are unsure,” Diana continued. “But Jason, we both know Artemis too well to think she would ever give up her life willingly.”

Jason swallowed, nodding in agreement. Artemis had only left the Outlaws because he was to be the Shimtar of Bana-Mighdall. It had meant the world to Artemis, and she had taken to her role gladly. Unlike Diana, Artemis had never desired a family.

“Artemis has already made her choice, Jason,” Diana continued. “She wishes to live her life, and neither of us will sway her. However, I could not live with myself should Artemis continually deny her daughters. So I ask of you, Jason. Will you raise them?”

“With all I have,” Jason promised, grief and despair coursing through him. “And I will love them the same way.”

Diana seemed relieved to hear that.

Neither got the chance to expand on the subject as Babs suddenly summoned them to the cave. The two exchanged glances as they steeled themselves for the battle to come. Ares and Circe wouldn’t be easy opponents.

They had to be ready.

\-----------------------------

“He’s coming.”

The group paused for only a moment at Leta’s words before returning to their tasks. The Headmaster had been less than thrilled by the confrontation, and had initially denied their plea. What ultimately swayed the man, however, was when Leta offered to leave the school to keep her fellow students safe. Which was why the group currently found themselves setting up traps while the rest of the student body moved to the gym.

“Olive, Maps, Damian, get Leta to the tunnels,” Pomeline barked. “The rest of us spread out. We’ll cover more ground. Stay out of sight, and give nothing away.”

The Pizza Club could only nod as they went to do their tasks. Damian made them stop once at a hollow tree close to the North Hall, pulling out a katana and a few odd gadgets. Gadgets that basically confirmed Leta’s suspicion about Damian Wayne.

“Let’s go,” he urged as the four of them raced into the building.

“We have several places we could go,” Maps, to her name sake, pulled out an expertly sketched map. “We have the secret crypt of Amity and Frych where we discovered what Olive’s powers were, and we have Arkham Asylum, though I don’t recommend that one. Then we have an entrance to the old Cobblepot mansion. An exit that leads to an Alley near Doctor Thompkins Clinic, and one such tunnel that collapsed. We haven’t explored the other two.”

“Hopefully we won’t need to,” Damian huffed. “But should we, we’ll have to stick close.”

Damian Wayne was a warrior. Someone trained to kill since birth. Leta hadn’t quite been trained since birth, but she had been a warrior for nearly as far back as she could remember. She knew, in the end, their traps would be futile. Just as she knew Damian would take a stand against Ares. Leta didn’t want Damian to die.

“We’ll go to the crypt,” Olive stated, pulling Leta from her thoughts. “I don’t want to go anywhere near Arkham.”

There was a story there. One Maps promised to share once this was all over. Honestly, Leta just wanted to know what power Olive had and go from there.

Leta felt the chill crawl up her spine, digging into her flesh. A warning.

“He’s here.”

\----------------------

**The Prophecy of Diana's Daughter**

_Born of Princess Diana, she is to be a girl of the sky and Night. Her fight for justice will be done at the side of her grandmother, and led to the soul of her heart. She will marry Fate, the one who is blessed by Time, and from her bond with Fate, she will give birth to Dream. Reborn from the ashes of the war ended by Death’s favorite. This will complete the cycle of the Endless. Heir to the throne, she will turn away in favor of her love and her child. Her path is carved in that of Man’s World, but her Destiny will guide her beyond reality._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The prophecy of Artemis and her daughters isn't pleasant, and for the sake of not taking too much attention away from the overall plotline, you'll have to read more of my series to figure it out. 
> 
> What do you think of Diana's daughter and what the prophecy entails?


	6. The Hearth of Hestia

Headmaster Hammer had seen many things in his life, but a god trying to pass as a businessman and a potential mob boss was not one of them. However, this was Gotham, and he wasn’t amused.

“I am afraid I cannot help you, Mr. Buchanan,” the Headmaster informed the man (god) before him. “I do not currently house a Hippolyta Milton.”

“She prefers Lyta,” Ares pressed. “It’s possible her mother placed her under a nickname.”

“How do you spell that, sir?”

“L-Y-T-A.”

“I’m afraid I don’t have a student under that name, Mr. Buchanan. The only student I have with the last name ‘Milton’ is Harrison Milton, and his parents are two of our top donators. I don’t believe he’s the child you’re looking for. I do apologize.”

Ares seemed furious, but Headmaster Hammer had dealt with difficult parents before. And if he went off Leta’s records, her parents were Henry and Catherine Morgan. So he had no intention of handing over a student to a man who was not legally the girl’s parent. And as student records were confidential, he had no legal obligation to show Mr. Buchanan anything.

Mr. Buchanan was wise enough to know not to start anything, but Headmaster Hammer knew he had already completed the first part of the children’s plan as the man (god) slammed the door on his way out. The man, of course, was a god, and Headmaster Hammer had no doubt that Mr. Buchanan would not leave well enough alone. He could only hope the other children followed orders and remained quiet. For all the disdain the Pizza Club had caused him, the Headmaster was well aware they were the schools best hope with Batman out of town.

The sound of the makeshift party poppers going off in the halls was a reliving sound because it meant the children had already gone to the next location. Still…

“These children will be the death of me,” Headmaster hissed as he went to his locked cabinet.

At least the Pizza Club had volunteered to aid in any clean-up necessary for this little event. Otherwise he’d have to expel several of them. Now if only he could get ahold of Mr. Wayne. He understood that the man was out on business, but they would need to discuss the repairs to the school, as well as re-discuss the finalized plans for the North Hall. It looked as if they’d be incorporating a secret entrance to the tunnels after all.

“Interesting costume,” a voice spoke from being Headmaster Hammer. “But your tech is a little outdated. Perhaps I can lend you a hand.”

Headmaster Hammer spun around. How had-?

\---------------------------------

“So, now we just need to decide where to go,” Maps stopped them at the grand opening that led to many different pathways. “Our options are-”

“The crypt,” Olive offered. “We’ll go to the crypt. I’ll be able to defend that easily.”

Maps nodded and began to lead the other three down the correct path. And then the hall shook.

“That was Colton’s bomb!” Maps gasped.

“They’re here already?!” Olive breathed in horror.

Leta felt a chill go up her spine. She should have known her father wouldn’t be stopped by silly tricks. She could only hope that the others were still alive.

“Olive, Maps, go to the crypt,” Damian shoved them towards the hallway. “I’m taking Leta.”

“But-!”

“NOW!”

Olive grabbed Maps’ hand and dragged her towards the crypt, while Damian chose a random tunnel and took off. Leta recognized it as one of the tunnels that hadn’t been explored yet, especially as Maps made them all look over the map at least once. Damian wasn’t likely to have forgotten either.

“What-?”

“We’re still not sure what Ares knows,” Damian threw out an explanation. “And given that Rivera, I mean Colton, has thrown out at least one explosive, there is a chance that Ares will have captured them. Silve-Olive, Pomeline, and I came up with a plan to distract Ares. They’ll lead him to the Crypt where Olive will attempt to hold her own, while using the tracker Huntress gave me to lead the vigilantes to her.”

“But what if they don’t make it in time?!”

“Huntress is still on the property, and she may be human, but she’s fought far worse than a god.”

“So it’s true then,” Leta stopped, causing Damian to stop with her. “You’re Robin.”

Damian didn’t react.

“I-I won’t tell anyone,” Leta promised quickly. “But…I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have watched you so closely.”

“No, you did right,” Damian corrected, turning to face her with a determined expression. “Yes, I am Robin, Leta. I am also a warrior. And a former assassin. Son of Batman and Talia al Ghul. Grandson and heir of Ra’s al Ghul. And I am going to save you, if you’ll let me.”

Damian reached out a hand, palm up, giving her completely control of the situation. She had heard stories of Robin. All of them, really. But the current Robin was cold and angry. Perhaps it was a mask, just as Leta Morgan was her mask.

“Okay,” Leta reached out to take his hand. “Okay.”

Hands linked, the two dashed through the tunnel to their unknown destination. It felt like a lifeline and a hope. Damian was like her. Maybe without powers, but enough like her that she trusted him, and he was trusting her.

“I think Maps suspects something.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised,” Damian shot Leta an amused smirk. “She once thought I was Batman.”

“Seriously!?”

“In her defense, I didn’t deny it, and I had a terrible habit of showing up when she absolutely needed the aid. Both as Damian and Robin.”

“Are you even trying to protect your identity?”

“Not from the people that matter.”

\-----------------------------

“GO!” Helena barked at the children.

It was stupid for them to have tried to anger Ares, and it was beyond foolish for them to have thrown an explosive. What had Damian been thinking? Headmaster Hammer, dressed as the custodian, directed the children to the North Hall with a second tracker.

Ares was a god, a dangerous one, and Helena knew she couldn’t outright beat him. So what plan had Damian and these children schemed up to stop him. Jason and the others were still too far out. There were far too many children hidden in the gym. Still…she had to buy them time.

“You are good,” Ares admitted as Helena avoided yet another strike and delivered an attack of her own. “A well trained warrior. An amazon, perhaps?”

Helena huffed, grinning. “I don’t _need_ to be the child of a god to outclass you.”

Which was funny, because Helena had just been internally berating Damian for antagonizing a god and she was doing the exact same thing. So, of course, Helena found herself slashed across her front with an expert blow. Helena gasped out, using the momentum to launch her grapple at the sword and yank it from the god’s hands. Ares was less than amused as he proceeded to throw Helena into the door of the North Hall.

Helena gasped as hands suddenly wrapped around her.

“Time to go!” the cheeky voice of Colton Rivera spoke from above her as he made a mad sprint to the tunnel. “Hold on tight!”

Helena knew she could have fought back. The cut to her chest wasn’t all that deep, and she had been thrown way harder than Ares had even tried. But Helena knew Ares would follow, that it wouldn’t take him long to retrieve his sword if he hadn’t already. However, she had seen the amusement on his face as he launched her across the grounds. He was playing with them.

“Okay. Okay. Okay.” Came the frantic voice of Kyle Mizoguchi. “Okay. One of these leads to Arkham. One is a dead end. And the other is an unknown.”

“Which is which?” Pomeline demanded.

“I have no idea,” Kyle shrugged sheepishly.

Pomeline rolled her eyes. “Tristian, with me! We’ll go left. Kyle, you, and the Custodian go down the middle. Colton, take Katherine and Huntress and go right!”

They were going to be slaughtered like this, but she could hardly get a word out to call for help. She wanted to call Karen, but she needed to breath. And then, something odd happened. Katherine began to shift and transform into something odd, like clay. It latched onto to Colton, who seemed undisturbed by this, and began to spread across the wound on Helena’s torso.

“Pretty neat, huh?” Colton grinned through pants as he dashed down the tunnel. “Katherine discovered she could do it after Maps scraped up her knee pretty bad. She acts as a temporary seal over a wound, helping to hold the skin together till we can get proper stitches.”

That was pretty cool, actually, and Helena showed her appreciation with a gentle smile and a pat to the little clay head that smiled back.

“Ah, dang,” Colton huffed. “I have no idea where we are.”

Helena’s eyes flew open. She did know where they were.

Not good. Not good.

\----------------------------

Leta and Damian froze as the tunnel led them to an old, worn ladder. It was attached to a trap door with a rusted lock, something easily broken. It took some maneuvering, but Damian hoisted Leta onto his shoulders, letting her break the lock with a few short tugs, and then pushed her through the door. Leta then pulled Damian up, thankful for her Amazon strength.

“It…looks like a cabin,” Leta glanced around. “An abandoned one.”

It was an old fashioned cabin. And by old fashioned, she didn’t mean with logs stacked on top of each other. No, this was made of dirt, probably centuries old. This hut, however, would need to be cared for constantly. So how had it survived?

“I’m not so sure its abandoned,” Damian whispered.

Leta froze as the hearth suddenly roared to life before them. Magic, perhaps. Maybe her mother. Though she couldn’t really see her mother staying in place like this.

_“Calm down, children,”_ a voice spoke from the flames. _“I am not here to harm you.”_

Leta had to observe the flames properly as they spoke, and she gaped in shock as the image of a woman appeared in the blaze. She looked kind, perhaps a bit old, but younger the Hammer Head.

“Who are you?” Damian demanded.

_“Can you not tell, Son of Batman?”_

Damian gripped Leta’s hand a bit tighter. She hadn’t even been aware he had grabbed it again. Or perhaps she had been the one to grab his.

_“I wish you no harm,”_ Hestia spoke. _“I am here because I wish to give you a gift.”_

“Like in the stories,” Leta whispered.

_“Yes,”_ Hestia giggled, clearly amused. _“Like the stories. I do find them quite amusing if inaccurate.”_

“And why should we trust you?” Damian demanded. “I did not think the gods cared for such things that did not benefit them.”

_“Oh, my dear,”_ Hestia’s smile seemed sad, and the flames seemed to dim. _“My power resigned over that of both the hearth and the home. In a manner of speaking, it is my job to watch over families. Both by blood and by bond. Leta’s ties to her parents have harmed her, and should Ares win, I fear dear Leta will lose her chance at family. There is much suffering to come, my dears, and I wish to aid, even if only this once.”_

Leta found she believed Hestia. Though she would never be able to explain why. She let herself pull away from Damian to crouch before the flames in a bow.

“Goddess of the hearth and the home, please grant me your gift,” Leta pleaded, bowing her head in respect to a goddess that had always been cast aside. “Thank you for considering my life worth interfering.”

Hestia’s smile was kind, if slightly surprised. Hestia was the goddess everyone seemed to forget. Her gifts were kind, caring, and often underappreciated.

“My dear child, I bless you with the amulet of Harmonia,” the flame woman lifted a bronze look circle, carved expertly. “Once created to defeat Ares by revealing his weakness, I ask that you keep this with you. Use it as a reminder that where you come from does not mean you are tied to them. Carve your own path and make your own hearth.”

“I will,” Leta promised.

And she meant it.

As the flames in the hearth vanished, Leta turned back to Damian. His gaze had landed on an old dining table, brow furrowed.

“Remind me we need to come back,” Damian approached the table. “Olive and Pomeline will want to see this.”

Leta glanced down to see an old chalk slate that one would do school work on written with the name Amity. Her gaze locked with Damian for just a second as they raced back towards the tunnel entrance.

\----------------------

Dead end,” Pomeline hissed. “Dang it.”

“I believe this is more than a dead end for you,” the voice of Ares made them freeze.

Tristan glared, clearly ready to attack, but Pomeline held him back. It would be a slaughter, and even if Tristan attempted to buy her time, Ares was too clever for that. They’d both be dead before they could blink.

“Tell me where my daughter is.”

“We don’t know,” Pomeline stated. “We separated. She could be in any one of these tunnels.”

“Of course,” Ares agreed. “But you have an idea. Don’t you? After all, I’d hate to kill your friend to get that information. Such a waste.”

“NO!”

Ares lunged for Tristan but he froze as flames licked up his body. He spun around to see a young girl that had not been part of the initial group, glaring Ares down. She seemed unamused by him. Which was funny. After all, he was a god.

**_“You will not harm them,”_** the wench spoke.

“And what could you possibly hope to do against me?”

**_“Duck.”_**

Ares was confused right up until Wonder Woman’s fist slammed into his face. The two children he had been threatening had ducked and lunged forward as Ares was punched straight through the wall that had blocked the path. The girl of fire took the other two children and vanished instantly.

“Diana,” Ares greeted. “How kind of you to join us.”

Diana did not deem it necessary to say anything back. So be it. The fight could begin.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Olive finally uses her powers! Yay! And Diana is here to kick butt!


	7. A Mother's Touch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you get confused, please read the end comment, I better explain what happens there.

Olive Silverlock had a complicated history with Gotham’s vigilantes. For one, Batman had arrested her mother. Second, they were observing her constantly. Third, she found most of the vigilantes more of a nuisance than a help. So it was understandable that she had been hesitant when Red Hood appeared in the crypt. She was less hesitant when Batgirl appeared, and wavering when Wonder Woman and a fellow Amazon named Artemis appeared, but it was Maps who had swayed Olive.

“He’s not always friendly with them,” Maps had stated. “On their side, but he does his own thing.”

Olive could live with that. Maybe.

“They must have split up,” Hood muttered, glancing at the trackers Olive hadn’t known about. She was starting to think Maps’ theory about Damian was right. “One group is headed towards Arkham.”

“Oh! I haven’t mapped that tunnel,” Mia pointed to where one blip was running in between the blocked tunnel and the Arkham tunnel. “Where does that one go?”

Hood frowned and glanced at the map. His eyes widened.

“Wayne Manor.”

“Right,” Diana cut in. “Ares has taken the tunnel on the left. No doubt to corner the children. I will head in that direction. Batgirl, take Artemis down the tunnel towards Arkham. Hood, go to the Manor path. We have to hope that Damian Wayne will keep Leta safe.”

“Princess,” Artemis tried to protest.

“No arguments,” Diana insisted. “Ares will be expecting me, and we can use that to our advantage. We get the children to safety and then we can ambush him.”

“That’s a terrible idea.”

The heroes turned to look at Maps.

“Ares is the god of war,” Maps pointed out. “He fights _better_ when an army comes at him. Even with powers, you’d just be setting yourself up for slaughter.”

“We did have a plan,” Olive stated. “This wasn’t just some botched rescue. And if you want to win, we’ll be going with you.”

Diana eyed the girls, but she seemed more pleased than upset. “Very well, then. May I have your names.”

“Olive Silverlock. This is my best friend, Mia Mizoguchi, but we call her Maps. And for the sake of our plan, Maps will be going with Hood, and I’ll be going with you, Wonder Woman.”

“Then I look forward to fighting by your side.”

\------------------------

That had hardly been two minutes ago. The moment she saw Ares threatening Pomeline and Tristan, she had lost it. Not as bad as when the Lysdeckers had tried to bring forth Amity. She had learned to control Amity with her friends, and Pomeline had a talk with Amity about how things had changed, how the Wayne family had changed and so forth. But Pomeline was Amity’s best friend, maybe even Olive’s second best friend, though it was hard to tell with Pomeline. Olive’s ancestor was having none of that.

It was also incredibly satisfying to light Ares on fire.

“Move. Move. Move. Move.” Olive rushed her friends through the tunnel.

The plan was to circle through the Wayne Manor tunnel and meet up there. Maps’ suspicion was _really_ starting to look plausible. Which meant Olive, and the rest of the Pizza Club, owed Maps twenty dollars each.

_Lovely._

“Get Down!” Tristan screamed, shoving both girls to the floor as Wonder Woman was thrown over their heads.

The three gasped in horror as Wonder Woman sailed through the tunnel entrance. Which meant Ares was right behind them. Which meant going to Wayne Manor was no longer an option. Olive made her flames flare as she shoved Pomeline and Tristan up and towards the tunnel entrance. There was no way she could beat Ares, but she could distract him.

“You’re a fool, child,” Ares taunted, slowly stalking into view with a grin on his face. “It’s a shame, really. That you must die so soon. But dying in battle will be such an honor. Unfortunately for you, the death will be quick.

An axe sailed passed Olive’s head and embedded in Ares’ chest. Olive doubted that it had killed he god, but the Axe was definitely a surprise. Artemis stood behind Olive, glaring at the god with a fury.

“You will not harm these children,” she growled. “Now fight me, you coward!”

Olive slipped away, not daring to see how the battle would turn out. She had spent enough time running around with Maps to have great self-preservation instincts. Olive only hesitated enough to make sure her flames _really_ burned Ares before dashing back through the tunnel after her friends.

“Head to the crypt!” Pomeline was shouting at Tristan, who had picked up the fallen Wonder Woman. “Hurry!”

Olive paused as she heard a scream that made her blood curdle. Her gaze whipped around to see Ares emerging from the tunnel with a limp Artemis in his grasp. He tossed her to their feet.

“Now, then,” Ares sighed, as if this whole situation was nothing more than a nuisance. “Shall we start again?”

Olive had instinctively crouched down to gather Artemis to her. Trying to shield the buff woman with her much smaller frame. They were in over their head. They knew from the start that they weren’t going to have an easy battle. Percy Jackson made challenging a god look easy. Almost too easy.

Ares caught the batarang with ease.

“Foolish,” Ares turned to Damian, and Olive felt her breathing hitch at his appearance. “What could this possibly do against-”

Ares’ words were cut off as the batarang exploded in his face. Before Ares could recover, Damian sent several more Batarangs at the man, launching at a speed Olive couldn’t quite follow. Transfixed, Pomeline had to pull both Artemis and Olive away from the blast zone.

“Blind him,” Pomeline whispered in her ear. “Try to blind him, Amity.”

Olive, nor Amity, needed to be told twice.

**_“You will pay for harming those I love,”_** Olive and Amity hissed as she let her flames launch at Ares’ face.

The god cried out, but Olive did not dare let her flames stop. It would not be easy to blind a god, and Olive wasn’t even sure it was possible. But she had to try.

**“YOU FOOLISH WITCH!”** Ares seethed, slashing his blade in the air and disrupting her flames. **“YOU WILL BE THE FIRST TO DIE!”**

Olive threw her arms up to protect herself and waited.

Only, the cry of pain wasn’t her own. Olive cracked open her eyes to see vibrant purple hair land in front of her. A bow held firmly and expertly in the girl’s grip.

“Sorry I’m late,” Leta turned to Olive, looking far more confident than she had since Olive met her. “It took longer than I thought to string this together.”

Ares was staggering back as a golden arrow stuck out of his chest. It wasn’t like the arrow itself was solid gold, more as if the arrow was glowing gold. Leta’s magic, perhaps. Leta had mentioned once or twice that she had magic, and that she was a skilled warrior, but Leta was always so quiet and timid. It was one thing to hear about her abilities. It was another entirely to see it.

“Hippolyta,” Ares huffed, grinning like a mad man. “There you are.”

“That isn’t my name,” Leta held her head high, glaring down at the very father she had feared. “And I suggest you never use it again.”

“Bold words for a girl that ran like a coward.”

Leta said nothing back, once more drawing the bow back and launching an arrow at her father. He staggered in shock as it struck his neck.

Behind Ares, Kyle and Headmaster Hammer were staring at the scene, trying to remain hidden in their tunnel. Batgirl stood in front of them, guarding the two, but shooting a glance at Damian, further confirming Maps’ theory. Wonder Woman was starting to stir in Tristan’s grip, and Artemis seemed relatively lucid in Pomeline’s arms. But Olive was focused solely on Leta and Damian. The two were standing tall and proud, both threatening the god before them.

As warriors.

“Go back to the Underworld,” Leta snarled, drawing the bow back once more. “AND ROT!”

As the arrow sailed through the air, Olive watched as Damian raced forward, katana drawn and poised. The arrow struck Ares’ chest right as Damian plunged his katana into the god’s back. It too, Olive realized, glowed an odd gold. Ares attempted to twist around and attack Damian, but the boy was quick and lunged away.

“What have you done, daughter?” Ares demanded, growled, looking completely insane as he turned to face her.

“Your weakness, father,” Leta spat. “Has always been Aphrodite. And while the goddess would never turn on you, I am my mother’s daughter, and Aphrodite’s greatest strength is love. Tell me, father, what would your love say if you bore the mark of another woman.”

Ares looked absolutely horrified. The very air around them turned stiff with a righteous anger that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at all. It was no secret that the gods slept around, but the love of Aphrodite and Ares was great. So great that even though the _Odyssey_ never spoke of Odysseus meeting Ares, but it had a rather detailed song about their love life and affair.

“My love, please,” Ares tried.

The air around them only got stiffer.

“I-!”

And then Ares screamed. Diana got her bearings back in time to see a chariot pulled by doves appear in the tunnel. The goddess glared at Ares and yanked him onto the chariot with a fury that no one dare say anything about. Olive watched Leta, Diana, Artemis, and Damian wince as Aphrodite went off in ancient Greek, snarling as Ares coward. Then the chariot left, leaving the group in a stunned silence.

“Maps is going to be so upset she missed that,” Kyle finally broke the silence.

\----------------------------

The events after were a bit of a blur. Each of the children were rushed to the hospital, where Maps, Colton, and Katherine met them there. Dr. Langstrom was brought in to specifically check over Tristan, and the children were then sent to their parents (for those of them who still had living parents) as soon as they were released from the hospital. It would be a week before their friends would return to Gotham Academy, and Leta took that time to know Olive Silverlock, Tristan Grey, and Katherine Karlo better All of which told her the tale of their adventures with the Pizza Club and about Olive’s family history around Amity, the heiress of Arkham who had the ability to control flames.

Two days after they were brought back to Gotham Academy, Diana and Artemis came to bring Leta with them to Themyscira, but Leta turned the offer down. She made the argument that she could protect herself, as proven already, and Diana was rather surprised to see the Amulet of Harmonia again. She had thought the Amulet lost.

With still no contact from Batman, both Artemis and Diana could be seen helping the Birds of Prey around Gotham, both searching for Circe and dealing with Gotham’s Rogues. Leta still wasn’t certain about what she felt or heard the night she realized her father was in Gotham, but she wasn’t certain her mother was going to hurt her. Still, there had been no sign of Circe, even after they had discovered the hotel Ares had rented a room from.

When their friends finally returned, Leta was wrapped in Maps arms as the two girls giggled, and they dragged Damian into their embrace. Damian seemed uncertain, but after both Olive and Leta had done research on Robin, Leta decided he needed to be hugged more often. Maps wasn’t arguing either, so it was a win in Leta’s book.

“Odysseus was a hero because he was clever,” Maps concluded their presentation. “Like all Greek heroes, he went through tragedy, but with each tragedy he faced, he continued to think through each situation. Even when a distraction came and got in the way.”

“His journey home proved just that, as he continued to save himself and his crewmen, even going as far as to save others along the way,” Damian proceeded. “In fact, many believe that current stories all took some aspect of storytelling from the _Odyssey._ Especially those stories about heroes.”

“It can even be argued that many of our heroes today can be related to Odysseus,” Leta finished. “Though not always the best role model, his ability to observe a situation and use things to his advantage are skills many heroes, both super and normal, have learned to adapt to. And that concludes our presentation.”

They got an A on that project, oddly enough. Mrs. MacPherson was impressed by their work and dedication, despite being separated for a week, and she especially enjoyed the slide that compared Percy Jackson to Odysseus. Even Headmaster Hammer seemed to like it.

“Any word from your dad?” Leta questioned later, when it was just Maps, Leta, and Damian waiting for the other.

“No,” Damian shook his head. “We’ve debated calling in Richard to stand in as Batman, but Wonder Woman seems to have the criminals on standby.”

“And still nothing on Circe?” Maps turned.

“Nothing,” Leta grumbled. “I’ve got half a mind to reach out to her again, but Diana thinks that’s a terrible idea.”

“Given that we don’t know if she’s planning anything or not, it would be best not to do anything,” Damian stressed. “We’re all still recovering from our confrontation with Ares.”

“But…still…don’t you think she would have acted if she planned to,” Maps pointed out. “I don’t know how good of a strategist Circe is, but she has gone against Wonder Woman. Wouldn’t it make sense for her to have attacked while we were down.”

“Ah, um, excuse me,” the three turned to see a little red head girl with bright blue eyes standing beside them. She looked nervous, but all three recognized her as Mary Smith, Leta’s roommate.

“Hey, Mary,” Leta offered a kind smile. “What’s up?”

“Oh, uh, just, someone left this for you in our dorm,” Mary held out a potted plant that made Leta stiffen. “There is a note too.”

Maps, who was closer, took the plant with a grin as Leta thanked Mary. Her roommate skipped off, looking pleased with herself. Though the poor girl did end up crashing into Warren McGinnis. Poor girl. Leta would buy her ice cream later.

“A snowdrop,” Damian questioned, frowning at the plant. “Aren’t they-”

“Moly,” Leta whispered.

Maps carefully plucked the card, eyeing the flower as she opened the envelope.

“Oh! It’s from Ms. Ivy!”

_Dear Seedlings,_

_I am glad each of you are alright. I had worried when Ares began to move towards you, but the Green assured me you had made it out relatively unharmed. I hope that you never have to deal with that man again, but if you do, Harleen and I would gladly aid you however we can._

_Now, I understand that you have yet to hear of Circe, and I wish to assure you that the matter has been dealt with. Harley and I decided to act the moment the Green alerted me that Ares and Circe were both in Gotham, and we tracked his location to a hotel. We found Leta’s mother bound in a crown of Moly. Against my better judgment, I let Harley bring her back to the Jungle where we treated Circe’s injuries._

_Little seedlings, I give you this gift as a precaution. Attached to this letter is my recipe for the Moly medicine that will aid you in keeping Circe away, however, I do not believe Circe would dare use Leta as her father would. The woman agreed to leave Gotham with the knowledge that Leta be safe. By the time you get this letter, we will already be confronting the Bats, and Circe will be on her way._

_I wish you all safety, little seedlings._

_Dr. Pamela Isley._

\-------------------------

“So what’s the plan, anyways?” Colton asked Leta as the group gouged on pizza. “Like, I know you’re staying here, but aren’t you going to get any training?”

Leta nodded. “Every other weekend I’ll be going to Themyscira. Diana is also looking into other magic users such as Zatanna Zatara, who lives in Gotham. So I’ll still be here, but I’ll also be learning more about my magic.”

The sound of Damian’s phone going off did not disrupt the conversation as Pomeline eagerly asked if Leta could try and teach her a few things.

What did disrupt the conversation was the grunt Damian gave.

“Tt. Father has returned.”

“Is that a good thing…or a bad thing?” Kyle asked skeptically.

“It means I’m spending the night here in Olive and Maps’ wall to avoid a lecture.”

\----------------------------

Bruce and Diana were full on arguing while Artemis and Jason sought shelter in the med bay at Helena’s bedside.

“That’s…that’s a lot,” Helena hummed. “But, can we just hang on a minute. Like, I realize that Oracle’s are never wrong, but trying to understand a prophecy like that…it’s never gone well for anyone. And did you even listen to the full prophecy?”

“Of course,” Artemis hissed. “I am not a fool.”

“Didn’t say you were,” Helena shook her head. “But look at history, Artemis. It’s _dangerous_ to try to translate a prophecy like that. Especially to try and _prevent_ it.”

“Hel, it’s okay,” Jason tried, already seeing his efforts were in vein from her glare. “I’ll do what I can for our daughters. I promise.”

“And I’ll stand by you,” Helena stated firmly. “But you can’t honestly tell me you’re okay with this, Jay. This is like your own childhood all over again.”

Jason winced and Artemis stiffened.

“I’m not saying that Artemis should give up her life, but she should at least be _part_ of their life. Can you imagine your daughters growing up thinking that their own mother doesn’t love them enough?”

Jason looked away. He didn’t need to imagine. Jason had lived it. His own father didn’t really care about him. His mother either, though she tried.

“Just think about it,” Helena huffed. “I don’t want either of you to regret your choice.”

Helena’s words were like a slap to the face. For both of them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! This story is done!!! Well, sort of. The next part is actually a funny bonus chapter because I couldn't figure out where to put that part in this chapter. So I'll post that tomorrow!!
> 
> As for what Leta did, I did SO MUCH RESEARCH on what Ares weakness was in comics. While the Amulet of Harmonia was mentioned several times, I could not figure out what it truly revealed. It was simply said to reveal Ares weakness. However, after extensive research, I discovered that the one weakness that every wiki page, and source agreed to was the Aphrodite was Ares weakness.
> 
> So what happened here was, I had Leta replicate her mother's touch, making it seem like Circe was claiming Ares. And as Aphrodite seemingly loves Ares very dearly, this would anger the goddess of love. So each Arrow, along with Damian's sword, was meant to replicate a sort of seal that claimed Ares as Circe's lover.
> 
> As for why Diana and Artemis were thrown around for this chapter, I will explain that as both women have recently gotten over a huge shock, especially Artemis. Add that to the fact that Ares has been building himself up for this battle for years now, most of that time spent in Hades, Ares was able to use the shock to his advantage. 
> 
> Does this chapter feel incomplete? Well, its supposed to, just as the prophecy given to Artemis was incomplete, I want to leave this chapter open-ended as the two contemplate where they will go in life. Jason has made his choice, but he also doesn't want his daughters to grow up without their mother. Artemis, likewise, has made a choice, but even she is not satisfied with that choice.
> 
> Sorry for the long comment, but I hope this clears any confusion.


	8. Bonus Chapter

Jason was liking this little escapade less and less as they got closer to Wayne Manor. Maps was dutifully following along, but Jason had also read her file. She was taking everything in, memorizing their path. And if this tunnel led to where Jason thought it would, it would be a disaster.

“WOAH!” Maps breathed as they found the opening. “THIS IS AMAZING!”

So, of course, someone had to come out and judge Jason for bringing a literal child into the cave. Unfortunately, the person who got to do the honors was Stephanie.

But it was clear that they had already had company.

“Way to keep the secret, Hood,” Spoiler teased as she led them further into the Bat Cave. “Though Huntress beat you to it.”

Colton was clearly in awe as Katherine watched Alfred’s needle work carefully. Jason wasn’t sure why, but given the fact that Katherine had a vote of trust from Damian, he assumed the girl had no sinister plot in mind. Maps bounded her way over to Colton.

“You all owe me 20 bucks.”

“This doesn’t prove Damian Wayne is Robin,” Colton hissed back, snapping out of his awe. “We accessed the Batcave through the Arkham Tunnels.”

“Yes it does,” Maps huffed. “Because that’s Jason Todd.”

Jason was so absolutely done with this entire situation and went to Helena’s side.

“Hey.”

“Hey, yourself,” Jason grinned back. “I thought you said you wouldn’t get stabbed.”

“And I didn’t,” she stuck her tongue out at him. “I got slashed with the sword. Not stabbed. There is a difference.”

“Whatever you say,” Jason huffed, observing the scar on Helena’s torso.

Now that he was close, Jason could see that Katherine was using her body to cover the gash as Alfred stitched it expertly. Katherine had probably saved Helena’s life. The second thing Jason thought of was that he hoped Katherine didn’t mind being called Katherine, because he already knew a Kate. Maybe Katie? Meh, he’d let the kids decide.

Something in the background broke and Alfred paused to release a sigh. This was followed by Stephanie shrieking and two panicked children in the background.

“I should probably go back to that.”

“Yeah. You probably should.”

Jason huffed a laugh, giving Katherine a fond pat on the head as he went to go see what the damage was. Maps had crashed into a few beakers, all easily replaceable and empty. Thankfully. Bruce wasn’t going to be happy, however. He’d let Diana deal with it. Pregnant ladies were absolutely incredible, and a pregnant Amazon had to be an absolute boss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay!!! Funny Bonus chapter!!


End file.
